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storytelling

The more you give, the more you receive. The more people you share your product with, the more chances you have at being the best. The more you know about your audience, the better you can position yourself. The more time you spend with your audience, the more time they spend with you. The more you show through ACTIONS how much you care about your audience, the more they will care about you.

In business EVERYTHING is give & take! So, it’s best to get to know your audience and everything you need to know to have their best interest at heart. “Appeal to the heart, not the brain.” In todays world EVERYONE believes that they’re an entrepreneur & there’s A LOT of competition! Meaning, brands are going to have to work smarter & harder in order to get the results that are needed.

Honestly, I love this new digital era because it gives everyone opportunity to be as great as they want to be! There are no rules & the brands that tell the greatest stories with the most compelling content wins! It’s not exactly what you do, it’s how you do it.

What do you guys think? How can brands be more successful in this era? Feel free to subscribe, follow via twitter, comment, share, or even ask me questions: colecornerr@gmai.com . Thanks for reading! :D

For all companies, having a story and knowing that story are crucial steps to achieving success. On the other hand, I’m worried that too many marketers think that telling their story through advertising is enough. It’s NOT! In fact, those that think this way do so at their own risk because there is a new kind of company on the rise that uses story in a more powerful way — and they run more efficient and profitable businesses as a result. It is extremely important that brands pay more attention to showing their story through ACTION & NOT COMMUNICATION! In the commercial above I love how Nike not only told us how to just do it, but they always keep their audience involved within EVERY move they make! The story that they told connected with millions, but what made it great is how they created action & gave their audience opportunities to create within their brand! For example: H&M, Nike, Apple, Four Seasons, & Snapchat emphasize the creation of compelling and useful experiences — new products, new services, and new tools that advance their narrative by lighting up the medium of people. Meaning, that when people interact with a “story-action” brand such as one of these, people often want to tell their friends about it! It’s obvious that these “story-action” brands & many others are creating a fierce loyalty and evangelism in their audience! Their stories are told primarily via word of mouth, and are simply amplified by social media tools.

So how do you know a “story-action” company when you see one? Here are some primary characteristics:

They have a story

The story is about a larger ambition to make the world or people’s lives better

The story is understood and cared about by senior leadership outside of marketing

That story is being used to drive tangible action throughout the company: product development, HR policies, compensation, etc.

These actions add back up to a cohesive whole

Their audience and partners are motivated to engage with the story and are actively using it to advance their own stories

Most of these “story-action” brands have the most mentions on social media networks solid following! It’s one thing if your brand can tell a great story, but if you find simple ways LIVE that story even more, your audience will create a fierce loyalty to your brand & the word will spread……FAST!

Your doesn’t want to be or feel sold, but everyone loves a good story. For example; look at the movie industry & how popular certain movies can get, versus others. I believe that it’s more about HOW you communicate that story or brand to your audience. Just think of how terrible music artist can go platinum! Seriously, most of this so called “music” is GARBAGE & shouldn’t get the time of day! But, they told their story in a unique way that got the attention of many other people. Because everybody loves a good story, if you want to “sell” your product to your audience, or even your ideas to the world, you should recognize the power and importance of great storytelling!

In 2007, Barack Obama told a story so well & delivered a message that citizens all over the US could relate to, which played a HUGE part on him getting elected in 2008. Citizens become emotionally attached & supported President Obama for 2 TERMS!

My point here is, whether your product or idea is bad, good, negative, or positive, the story behind it that you create & communicate to your audience is what will connect! Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world today, but I also say that storytelling is the best tool to communicate ideas, persuade others, and get what you want.

Instead of using an ordinary vending machine, Coke decided to go above & beyond by creating an emotional experience within! Their dancing vending machine in South Korea had people dancing for a chance to win a free Coke. The better the person danced, the more Coca Cola they won! The machine was also participated by one of the biggest Korean boy bands and if the person danced better they got more products!

I bet that most of those students will tell at least 5 other people and that this will be an experience that they will NEVER forget! But most importantly they won’t forget WHO gave them the experience. I love what Coca Cola did with the dancing machine & how they used guerrilla marketing to get their attention. Now students in South Korea will always think about the dancing machine whenever they see a Coke product.

“It’s all about how you make a person feel & depending on how they feel about the experience is what will come to mind whenever they interact with your brand.”

Now, what’s more remarkable than seeing your name on a Coke bottle? In order for Coca Cola to reconnect with their audience in Australia they decided to get personal! Coke took their audience & brought them closer to their brand! They did everything from Coke bottles, t-shirts, vending machines, billboards, and even those crazy 18-wheelers that we see on the highway. With just this campaign alone Coca Cola received a 3% increase in sales, 870% increase in Facebook traffic, 12,000,000 social interactions, & 76,000 Coke cans shared in less than 3 months!

But, how can I do the same with my brand?

Depending on your targeted audience, all Coca Cola did in order to bring their audience closer to their brand was give them control over what they wanted to see on each Coke can! Not only does this give your audience control (which they love), but this gives them a chance to share their name & creativity with people all across their country! We humans love certain brands and love them even more when we can add our creativity to them! Coca Cola found a simply, but remarkable way to connect with their audience & more brands should think of certain small ways to create a unique experience with their audience.Ask yourself: what is a simple way to bring my audience closer to my brand?

“People will forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel.”

TD has a winner with their Automated Thanking Machine campaign. Customer appreciation days at TD Canada Trust used to involve free coffee and cake at the local branch. This year, the company said thanks with cash and a few life-changing gifts.

In branches across Canada last week ATMs did not just spit out cash, they also began speaking to customers, thanking them for banking with TD and dispensing personalized gifts.

TD wanted to say thank you to customers in a way that felt unique and distinctive, and that actually gave back to customers. Historically, that’s been done in branches, but the way customers interact and transact with banks has changed. TD wanted to include all those touch points — online, mobile and phone banking — in one thank you, at one time.

TD also had a special thank you in-store for some customers. The company set up four “Automated Thanking Machines” (ATMs) at…

Ideas are IMPORTANT, but what’s most important is the EXECUTION! People care more about how hard you work to getting your message out there. What are you willing to do? How much time are you willing to put into your brand? How many people are you willing to share emotions with? How many people are you willing to make feel special & express to them how important they are to your brand? I believe that the more energy you put into spreading the word about your brand, the more you get out of it. It sounds simple, but I can guarantee that most people don’t do it! It’s all about focusing intensely on accomplishing specific goals & not stopping until those goals are accomplished.

Let’s use my blog for example: I’ve set a goal to get at least 1,000 views for the month of August & at least 200 new followers! In order for me to accomplish both, I must get at least 36 views per day and 7 new followers per day! I’ve set specific goals to tweet at least 100 tweets per day, 30 guest blog comments, & 50 Google+ comments. I know that it may sound ridiculous, but I’m determined to prove to myself that I can BLOWAWAY this goal of 1,000 views in one month & 200 new followers!

If you truly believe in something, then putting in the effort shouldn’t be as complicated as people make it seem. I know for a fact that my blog is going to BLOW soon! It’s just a matter of EXECUTION & TIME for people to notice!

FIND THE SMARTEST PEOPLE YOU CAN! Try finding those who truly care for their craft & have a full understanding of how things work. Experience won’t matter as much if the person is intelligent & willing to adapt. If you don’t have enough $$ to hire them, then find an intern just as great who’d be willing to work just to learn, & try rewarding them with other things (letters of recommendation, awards, food, etc.)

FOCUS INTENSELY ON YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE (niche)! What is it that you have to offer to your target audience that no other competitor does? I don’t mean the facts or features! I mean honoring certain morals & values! How will you show your consumers that you truly care for them? Try creating each story & strategy around your audience based on your values.

WORKING SMARTER ( & HARDER)! If you’re just starting out, it may take a while to get your story heard. But, if you take each step strategically, study, & really get to know your audience & show them how important they are to you, your stories will spread . . . FAST!

@Peets_Tweets tweeted: The first step to a perfect day. (credit: @thedressedchest) #Peets #Coffee

Once again, my audience doesn’t want to hear more about the facts & cool features about my product. People want to know how your brand can help them the way that they want it! No one cares if you know everything there is to know about your specific industry. Humans want a brand that will have an impact on their lives like no other. Meaning, it’s more about the emotion that your brad delivers to your audience. They want to know that they can always count on you to give them that special feeling of importance. For example: Peet’s Coffee & Tea (@Peets_Tweets) spends majority of their time replying to audiences’ tweets & creating experiences that the everyday coffee & tea lover can relate to! Instead of focusing on the boring fact about tea & coffee, they honored their audience instead.

Startup brands should put more of their energy into spreading the message to as many people as they can, but also being sure that you appeal to the heart of each human being! :D

From images, fonts, font color, every word, title, & move you make matters in todays’ world! Of course everyone knows this, but who actually implements it? Since people have a choice, one little flaw can ruin an entire reputation. Just think about Blockbuster, Pan Am , or even AMOCO. Where did they go? They all were worth well over 9 digits & they had great products. How did they disappear? Could they not keep up with what the world was coming to? I’d say so! When you want to make a powerful impact as a brand I believe that you MUST keep up with EVERYTHING that’s going on INSIDE & OUTSIDE of your brand in order to stay relevant to your audience. The reason Redbox & Netflix DESTROYED Blockbuster was because they saw where the generation was headed & TOOK ADVANTAGE! If you want t stay relevant I believe that brands should pay more attention to strategically planning their EVERY move & keeping up with your audience. What do you think?